What is the lesson of the story I Stand Here Ironing?
What is the lesson of the story I Stand Here Ironing?
In the short story by Olsen, “I Stand Here Ironing,” one of the themes is a mother’s regret. As the mother stands at her ironing board pressing a dress, she recounts the childhood of her eldest daughter, Emily. The major theme of the story is a search for understanding.
What does the iron symbolize in I Stand Here Ironing?
The Iron. The iron represents the chores and responsibilities that prevented the narrator from engaging with Emily’s life more profoundly. As the story’s title suggests, the narrator is constantly embroiled in the duties she must perform to effectively care for her family.
What is the author’s purpose in I Stand Here Ironing?
The point of the monologue is to establish an understanding of the character’s relationship with her daughter while exposing the unique viewpoint of this woman. It also intends to expose the conditions and situations of the lower class and elicit empathy for these living conditions from the reader.
What was wrong with Emily in I Stand Here Ironing?
Emily had a difficult childhood characterized by anxiety and illness, and at times, because of poverty or nervous illness, she had to live away from her mother in childcare that she hated.
What are two themes of I Stand Here Ironing?
I Stand Here Ironing Themes
- Poverty, Labor, and Domestic Life.
- Female Identity.
- Time.
- Obedience vs.
- Responsibility and Guilt.
Why does Emily’s mother seem to regret how she has raised her daughter?
She seems to regret much about how her first daughter was raised and feels that, as a result of her shortcomings as a mother, “all that is in [Emily] will not bloom.” Readers have had varying reactions to the narrator’s final resolution about her daughter—to “let her be.” While some see passive resignation in this …
What does ironing symbolize?
The repetitive back and forth motion of ironing represents the monotony of the narrator’s emotions, desires and dreams which will never come to pass no matter how much work she puts into them, and the endless cycle of helplessness she feels.
What happens at the end of I Stand Here Ironing?
The end of the story suggests that Emily has gotten her wish. The story ends with a response to the teacher that sounds like a prayer: “Let her be.” The last paragraph’s opening has a biblical echo of “let it be” (or an echo of the Beatles song, depending on your frame of reference).
What is the central conflict of I Stand Here Ironing?
“I Stand Here Ironing” contains both, but the main conflict is internal. The narrator is struggling with herself. She is trying to come to grips with what she sees as her failure as a mother.
How does Emily feel in I Stand Here Ironing?
Even though the narrator dwells on the details of Emily’s gloomy and sickly nature, lack of popularity, and low self-esteem, she ultimately describes a sensitive, thoughtful, and selfless individual who has survived simply because she must.
What has caused her to think about her daughter in I Stand Here Ironing?
She is prompted to think about her daughter by someone’s request (presumably a teacher’s) to discuss ways to help her. The narrator goes back nineteen years, to the time when her daughter was born. The narrator herself was nineteen at the time, trying to get by during the Great Depression.
Who is Bill in I Stand Here Ironing?
Bill. The narrator’s second husband. Bill is mentioned only in passing, as a limited presence in the family.
How old is the narrator in I Stand Here Ironing?
The narrator ( Emily ‘s mother) is ironing as she speaks to someone from her daughter Emily’s school. Emily is a 19 year old girl, and the figure – whose exact position is unspecified – has contacted the narrator for guidance in “helping” Emily (1).
Why is I Stand Here Ironing so good?
More than anything, “I Stand Here Ironing” is a masterful use of first-person narration. So much is merely implied in the story, which is believable because a person telling her own story would see no need to provide exposition that she would take for granted.
What does Emily say in I Stand Here Ironing?
In the present, Emily enters, joking about how her mother is always ironing. She refuses to to come meet the figure from her school, however. Emily insists that her mother not wake her the next morning for school, even though she has mid-terms, since the atomic bomb will destroy everyone soon anyway, making mid-terms irrelevant.
What are the characters in Tell Me a riddle?
About Tell Me a Riddle Tell Me a Riddle Summary Character List Glossary Themes Quotes and Analysis “I Stand Here Ironing” “Hey Sailor, What Ship?” “O Yes” “Tell Me a Riddle” The 1950s Related Links Essay Questions Quiz 1 Quiz 2 Quiz 3 Quiz 4 Citations